Pickleball popularity grows in North Hampton

NORTH HAMPTON — Tennis players, be advised: four mornings a week, two of the courts at Dearborn Park are reserved for games of pickleball.

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By Amy Kane

seacoastonline.com

By Amy Kane

Posted Aug. 26, 2014 at 2:00 AM

By Amy Kane
Posted Aug. 26, 2014 at 2:00 AM

» Social News

NORTH HAMPTON — Tennis players, be advised: four mornings a week, two of the courts at Dearborn Park are reserved for games of pickleball.

Yes, pickleball is a real sport. The USA Pickleball Association lists 2,000 places to play (including Dearborn Park) and estimates there are 100,000 players now.

Pickleball has a silly name but it's gaining a serious following in North Hampton, especially among seniors.

"It's addictive, it really is," says Delores Chase, who served for many years as North Hampton Town Clerk. "It's great for hand-eye coordination. It keeps you sharp. And I've never met anybody here I didn't like."

Pickleball players may be dressed for tennis, but they grip paddles instead of racquets and whack a lightweight plastic ball back and forth over a lower-than-tennis net. Pickleball courts (marked with red lines at Dearborn) are half the size of a tennis court.

Besides the net, gear and court size, there are some key rules that help make the game accessible to a range of ages and abilities. For example, serves are underhand and the ball must bounce once on each side before volleys are allowed.

Allen Brandt, of North Hampton, a longtime tennis player, says pickleball is great for people who used to be more active and still want to participate in a sport. He plays with braces on both knees. "Someone with double knee replacement can't be as mobile as they used to be."

Players take turns playing doubles on the two courts at Dearborn. Several beach chairs with canopies are usually set up between the courts. But no one rests long: the games, which are usually played to 11 points, last from 5 to 15 minutes.

North Hampton resident Homer Johnson also wears a pair of knee braces. "I can't run. I miss a lot of balls. If I win half the time it makes me happy."

Homer may not be able to run but he excels at strategy, says Delores. "He sees you back there and he's going to drop it right over the net."

A no-volley zone marked out near the net is called "the kitchen." A "dink" shot drops the ball skillfully into this zone. If a ball bounces in the kitchen, a player can step into the zone to hit it back over the net. The kitchen keeps a burly 6-foot-4 guy, for example, from dominating at the net.

Homer Johnson is the founding father of pickleball at Dearborn. He learned to play at a winter resort in Florida three years ago. He had help from the North Hampton Recreation Department organizing local games the following summer.

Joanne and Chuck Knox, of North Hampton, and Paul and Chris Kayne, of Portsmouth, had never heard of pickleball before they attended a clinic in Rye a year ago. They are regulars at Dearborn now, and hope to continue playing indoors again this winter. Last winter, pickleball players reserved a couple of courts twice a week at Spinnaker Point Recreation Center in Portsmouth.

Joanne encourages anyone who is interested to come out and try the sport. She manages an e-mail list for the players.

Paul says, "In 10 minutes you can learn the basic rules and be a player. You can play at all levels and you don't have to be super good to have fun."

Newcomers can borrow paddles. Appropriate tennis shoes are recommended so players can pivot easily and run back for a ball, rather than backpedaling, which increases the risk of falls and injuries.

Bill Wilson, of Rye, first played pickleball in Florida a half dozen winters ago. He and his wife Valerie recently competed in the New Hampshire State Pickleball Championships. Bill won first place in men's singles and Val brought home the bronze in women's doubles.

Bill played tennis and was a football coach and athletic director, but Val never played any sports before pickleball.

"I was raised in an era without a lot of women's sports. And I'm left-handed," she says. "My phys-ed teachers told me to just do everything backwards."

When the Wilson's two athletic sons, with grandkids in tow, visited a few summers ago they agreed to try pickleball. Based on experience in other family games, neither wanted Val on their team.

"'I had Mom last time!' they said," Val laughs. "So Bill and I played the two of them and beat them. It was one of my proudest moments."

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Pickleball is played outdoors at Dearborn until the nets come down in November. Drop by anytime from 8 a.m. to 10 a.m. or so Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays.

For information, visit usapa.org or pickleball.com. To join the local pickleball e-mail list, contact joanneknox@aol.com.